After three weeks of chasing the No. 1 quarterback in the transfer portal, LSU head coach Lane Kiffin has finally delivered on his promise to land a QB. This comes after a long search. The only problem? It isn’t Sam Leavitt. Instead, it is a high-variance gunslinger from the lower tier of FCS school Elon.

On January 11, LSU insider Zack Nagy wrote on X: “BREAKING: #LSU has landed a commitment from Top-100 quarterback transfer Landen Clark.”

This pick has ‘backup hire’ written all over it if you actually think about it. The Tigers literally have zero quarterbacks on the roster right now, as everyone has either used up their eligibility or left.

Clark is a redshirt freshman who put up some decent numbers last season, throwing for over 2,300 yards (29 total touchdowns) and running for a bunch more. He poses a dual-threat with a good arm. The only downside is that he might be more of a project for the future. But for an empty roster spot filler, this is as good as it gets, regardless.

Clark was a three-star prospect in the On3 Transfer Portal Industry Rankings. He was the No. 976 overall recruit and the No. 58 overall quarterback available after entering the portal.

LSU is still scrambling because of the whole Sam Leavitt saga. “The Portal King” has been chasing him hard, even flying to Tennessee last-minute to meet with him while Leavitt was checking out other schools like Miami. The problem is that Miami seems to be the clear favorite to land him right now.

Frankly, things aren’t looking as promising for Lane Kiffin as he expected at the beginning of his LSU tenure.

The good news is that since landing Leavitt isn’t a sure thing, LSU isn’t stopping. They are now hosting another hot prospect, a five-star freshman transfer from USC named Husan Longstreet.

It’s clear that Kiffin isn’t putting all his eggs in one basket and wants to make sure he gets at least one more howitzer arm in the building, maybe even two, to compete for the starting job.

For context, he did the same last season with the Ole Miss Rebels. He brought in three QBs from across the G5 and D2 schools to compete for the starting spot. Luckily, one of his portal picks turned out to be Trinidad Chambliss. So Lane does have an eye for talent and has proven it time and time again. He’s probably expecting a Chambliss-like jump from Clark.

As good an addition as it may be, college football doesn’t work on hope. Not in a cruel division like the SEC, at least. The drama is far from over in Baton Rouge. With just one week before the portal closes, it’s fascinating to see what kind of rabbit Kiffin pulls out of the hat to get Leavitt away from the likes of Tennessee and Miami.

Where is Sam Leavitt’s landing spot?

Right now, most college football insiders, even the likes of Pete Nakos of On3, are predicting that Sam Leavitt is heading to the Miami Hurricanes. It appeared to be a two-team race between Miami and LSU, but his latest visit had the player head over the hills for Mario Cristobal’s program.

Leavitt has visited all his top schools and is expected to announce his final decision any day now.

The thing about quarterbacks like Leavitt is that you can expect the winning mentality to remain in him, even after losses. He has to be the only QB to beat Texas Tech outside of the Oregon Ducks in the playoffs. Plus, despite playing just a handful of games, he threw for 1,600+ yards, 10 touchdowns, and just three picks. More importantly, he has two years of college eligibility remaining, making him a hot commodity.

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Leavitt is looking for a place where he can step in right away and lead the team. Miami offers that exact opportunity. The Hurricanes are already in the natty. With Carson Beck off to the NFL after seven years in college, what better place to be than Miami? That being said, knowing how competitive Kiffin is, he isn’t going to let this one go without a proper fight.